The Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) has announced the shortlisted nominees for this year's television awards.

RTE comedy The Young Offenders leads the way with seven nominations, including best comedy series and nods for the shows stars Hilary Rose and Chris Walley in performance categories.

A still from The Young Offenders (Image: ITV / Amy Brammall)

The 23 strongly contested television categories are spread across multiple categories, ranging from entertainment and comedy to current affairs and documentaries.

Academy CEO, Aine Moriarty said: “Congratulations to all the programme makers for delivering such incredible work, the standard keeps getting higher each year. The Academy is proud to give due recognition to Irish achievements in television and to the great Irish creative talent involved.”

TV3's hilarious Derry Girls received four nominations, while Ireland's Got Talent and Dancing with the Stars will battle it out in the reality TV category.